Conventional women's panty underwear with waistbands and seams around the leg openings is unsuitable for women who wear tight pants, or low waist pants (such as “hip huggers”), which openly reveal waist bands and seams of panty underwear, or expose underwear waist bands.
Moreover, for women who like to wear jeans without underwear there is a natural fear of bacterial infection or exposure of sensitive body tissues to clothing dyes or irritating stitching.
Among related prior art patents are those which fall into four categories for which common distinguishing arguments can be composed. The categories are special garments or undergarments, absorbent materials for pads, clothing adhered pads, and maternity wear.
Clothing Adhered Pads:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,457 of the Applicant Christine Martz herein describes small clothing adherable perfume patches which attach to the inside of clothing, such as a blouse, with a skin facing side rubbing intermittently against the skin, to mute the smell of the perfume emitted by exposure to body oil in the skin of the wearer.
However, neither Martz '457 nor Williams, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,835, relate to a pants shield designed to permit the user to comfortably wear jeans, pants or shorts or the like without an undergarment and also without any external indication that such a shield is being used. Martz '457 relates to small garment pads used to emit a fragrance; their general physical shape and construction are different from the instant invention. Williams '835 relates to a panty liner of generally oblong configuration specifically for use with thong underwear. The multilayer construction designed for maximum absorption and a “penetration barrier” would be far too bulky for the objectives of the present invention.
Maternity Wear:
Blair, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,730 describes an expansion panel for temporarily providing a larger waist and frontal area so that a user can wear the jeans during pregnancy. The panel is easily removable when it is no longer needed. Clearly this prior art is irrelevant to the present invention.
Absorbent Materials for Pads:
Palumbo et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,250 B1 relates to an absorbent pad with defined fluid receiving and fluid retention regions. It is designed primarily for use in treating female incontinence.
Rock et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,698 describes a composite undergarment fabric of multilayer construction using a skin contact layer of hydrophilic material with superabsorbent and high moisture transmission layers attached.
Mende, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,632 relates to a nonwoven fabric and manufacturing method. It is a soft bulky absorbent and permeable material.
Tanner et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,961 has an absorbent article having exceptional expansion properties when wetted.
None of the above materials are required in the construction of the present invention. High moisture absorption is not a key requirement. Comfort and low thickness so as to preclude edge detection from external viewing of the outer garment are principal requirements which cannot be supported by the materials described in this group of patents.
Special Garments or Undergarments:
Glaug, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,120 B1 describes a cloth-like, breathable disposable brief with refastening means. It is an adult garment for controlling incontinence.
Davis, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,535 discloses a genital covering garment that is a minimum temporary covering generally useful for surgical procedures or examinations not requiring visual or tactile access to these regions.
Marbach, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,208 relates to a minimal covering for the lower part of the anatomy consisting of a spring supported patch that fits between the user's legs and engages the pubic bone and the sacrum. The intended use is as a bathing brief.
Crawford, II, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,482 describes a self supporting sideless and waistless tanning brief. This is a malleable wire frame with a cloth covering extending to the rear with a spring member which fits between the buttocks of the wearer.
Vargason, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,922 discloses a removable undergarment that is designed for quick wearing. A variety of attachment patches are used to attach the undergarment around the user in a comfortable fashion.
Lampman, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,323 describes a disposable undergarment held by a partially encircling belt, wherein the undergarment covers the pubic area and central buttocks of the user. It can be used by women while trying on bathing suits or the like in stores.
The inventions in this group relate to garments or undergarments. None disclose a clothing attached secret shield that can be used as a substitute to using an undergarment.